OK, so an NFL training camp may not be fun in the sun, exactly, to those sweating inside helmets, but the arrival of a certain quarterback has certainly ratcheted up the anticipation level in Denver.

“It’s exciting, knowing it’s a tough, long road ahead,” Broncos cornerback Tracy Porter said. “But it’s just exciting. You know the players who are here, you know what the potential for the team is and you know you have a Hall of Famer at quarterback.”

And when the Broncos take the field for their first training camp practice Thursday morning, not only will quarterback Peyton Manning be the most-watched player by those in attendance, his arrival is so big it has taken some of the usual dread away from the other players as they prepared for the grueling summer workouts.

“Nobody really likes training camp,” Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. “But as a player, you are going to be excited at the opportunity when you have a player like (Manning) on your team. It’s a quarterback’s league, and he’s one of the best ever. You’re going to be excited about that — or at least you better be.”

Manning, Bailey and the rest of the Broncos take the field at 8:50 a.m. in the first practice of camp open for public viewing at the team’s Dove Valley complex. Gates will open to let fans into the practice one hour before practice.

The team will not practice in full pads until Saturday morning.

The players checked in Wednesday. Each received an entry physical by the team’s medical staff.

“You’re kind of anxious,” Tamme said. “You’re champing at the bit a little bit. … I went in and checked in at the hotel (Wednesday), and I was just sitting around thinking, ‘Let’s go.’

“Where else would you rather be? Training camp is hard. There are times when you wake up and your body is hurting and all that, but this is a blessing, man. This is fun. There’s nothing else you’d rather do as a 27-year-old male then go play football.”

MONTREAL — It’s a big deal to play or coach hockey in Montreal and Toronto, and for first-year Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, it’s bound to be extra special because it will be his first time in those historic Original Six markets. Indeed, the Canadian native from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, has never been to the Bell Centre or Air Canada Centre — where...

Shortly before the season began, Holmes, who had been dealing with a nagging hip since September, finally went in to get an X-ray to get the injury addressed. That X-ray revealed a mass on his hip, and following a biopsy, doctors diagnosed Holmes with Osteosarcoma.